The Magic Series
by DannyPhanto fan
Summary: Sequel/companion to The Art Series.
1. Chapter 1

**The Magic Series**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 or Ben 10: Alien Force and/or any and all related concepts and characters. I am a mere Fanfiction author.**_

_**Author Notes: Okay; Inspired by Chapters three and seven of 'The Art Series'. Oh and, friendly warning, I don't know Classical Latin or Latin grammar so just grit your teeth and bear with me when I make mistakes. They don't offer Latin at my school either. Also, even though this is a separate story from 'The Art Series' they do take place in the same 'canon' so to speak and on the same timeline and so certain things from 'The Art Series' will be mentioned but even if you didn't read that Fanfiction you will be able to keep up. **_

_**Rated: K+-T**_

**Part One: Fiery…?**

_**Rated: T**_

She catapulted upright, swinging her legs off the bed and standing up to stagger to the restroom to ready for the day. After taking a hot shower she got dressed and moved to the sink to brush her teeth when she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

"_**Crap**_!" she swore; her head was completely bleached white. She grabbed the bottle of hair dye and began running the water to dye her hair when she noticed something. The bottle was empty, completely and totally empty. "_**Crap**_!" she swore again, tossing the bottle to the trashcan and opening the medicine cabinet to find, "_**Crap**_!" she didn't have any more dye…and her mother didn't need to use dye yet.

"Crap, what am I going to do?" she muttered, staring at herself. White hair was so…_**unique**_ that it may tip someone off to something. Besides going to school one day with nice deep scarlet hair and the next having bleach white hair? Definitely might tip off one of those conspiracy loons who might actually get onto something. She stared into the mirror, cursing her magic and the fact that it sapped her hair of color.

She looked like frickin' Charmcaster too! That wasn't too joy inducing.

"_****_!" she called, "_**DO WE HAVE ANY RED HAIR DYE OF ANY SORT**_?!"

"_**NO**_! _**WHY DO YOU NEED IT**_?!" Jen Tennyson called back.

"_**NO REASON**_!" no way she was telling her parents about this; they may freak or try to send her with Verdona. No way was she risking losing her human way of life just because of some stupid little thing like hair color.

She ran back to her room, sliding to her bed on her knees and opening the drawer beneath her bed to reveal her magic stuff and she dug, frantically, through it to find the spell-book she had stolen from her arch nemesis all those years ago.

She began flipping through the pages, operating on the logical assumption that a young witch as vain as Charmcaster would have spells to alter one's physical appearance.

"_**GWEN**_! _**KEVIN'S**_ _**HERE**_!" her mother called.

"_**BE DOWN IN A FEW MINUTES**_!"

"_**OH C**_'_**MON**_ _**GWEN**_!" a male voice, which was that of her comrade Kevin Levin, called up, "_**I**_'_**M SURE YOU LOOK FINE**_;_** LET**_'_**S GO ALREADY**_!" she heard him thudding up the stairs and slammed the door shut with a shot of manna, calling "_**KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN**_! _**DON'T YOU DARE FORCE THAT DOOR**__!_" even as she continued to look.

"Why not?!" he was outside the door.

"Because A) it's rude to break down peoples' doors and B) I'm still in just my towel."

"And why when you've had so much time…?"

"Because all my clothes have blood stains! I'm trying to find something not completely wrecked!"

She found it, pointing a finger at her head and summoning her magic, she whispered, "Facio meus niveus crinis inclino tenus rutilus!"

Briefly her scalp burned intensely and then the burn abated; she stood up to look in a mirror.

Hmmm, it was a little lighter than her natural hue but probably nobody would notice. She grabbed her bag and reached for a baseball cap and a rubber band to bring, just in case.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two: Supply Run**

_**Rated K+**_

"And why New Orleans?" Ben asked as they jetted to the aforementioned city.

"New Orleans is most probably the national HQ of real witchcraft," Gwen explained patiently, "And I wanna expand my collection of spellbooks. I need to learn more if I ever wanna rematch Charmcaster and win; if not then I'm a sitting duck to everyone and their brother."

They began their descent and once near enough to the ground Ship, the intelligent creature that had morphed into the jet that was now carrying them, simply morphed around them into a minivan and continued on into the rural areas of the city.

"The owner of the shop is said to be," she looked for a positive word, "a bit eccentric. Be nice."

Her two boys made the classic, "Who? Us?" faces and she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, knowing that if she made them wait in the car they would kill each other. She was crazy for bringing both along without Julie there to keep Ben in line.

The shop, a way out of the way and characterless shop on the outside, was stifling with the fumes of potions mixing with the tangy scent of herbs and spices and the musty odor of old leather and stale parchment.

The entrance bell tinkled and the heavy door sealed itself on impact with it's jam.

"Hello?" she called cautiously and the proprietor appeared out of thin air. She was a young, blond woman. Her eyes were cloudy, indicating her blindness.

"Ahhh, Gwendolyn Tennyson," she guessed and thus put her visitors on guard, "I've been expecting you."

"You've been expecting me?" Gwen questioned uncertainly as the blond grabbed her by the wrist and began dragging her towards the backroom.

"Yes, yes," the blond stated impatiently, "Seers see things, duh; it's in the job description. A blind seer…what a cliché, but what can you do? C'mon I got your things waiting for you."

"My things…?"

"Oh yes, everything that dammed Charmcaster has but better; some of my best work; hand-carved golems, spellbooks that make her charms and hexes look like child's play, a stave, a utility belt and of course a crystal ball and cauldron…"

"You worked with Charmcaster?" Gwen tried to pull herself free but the seer held on tightly sighing, "She was destined to be a very powerful good witch but then that thrice damned uncle of hers warped her mind so her needed good deeds have fallen to you; you and her will forever be locked in battle so I went all out…here we are," she had led them to a small closet and felt around for a very small switch which made the back wall retreat to reveal a small workroom. In the middle of the room was a trunk. 

"My name is Orenda by the way," Orenda introduced as she led the witch to the trunk before kneeling, pulling her guest down as well, and opening the trunk. She felt around, "Ahhh," she withdrew a short, polished, piece of wood which she then extended, "Holly and Yew wood staff, to focus and direct your energy to do as you wish; also makes a pretty decent normal weapon. Foldable for easy storage and the ability to carry it concealed on your body," she folded it back up and put it aside to only to reach back into the trunk and withdraw a lavender utility belt, clicking the folded staff into a niche on it before explaining, "Every smart superhero has one of these; it'll hold everything I've made for you except the crystal ball, the books, and the cauldron."

So they went through the items slowly, Orenda explaining each carefully.

As they flew back home Gwen customized what her belt held. She stopped at a tailor's and had a hooded cloak, purple, created. Once it was done and tailored she enchanted it to grow with her.

And so became her new outfit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three: Little Good**

_**Rated: K+**_

"COME ON YOU RETARDED LOCK!" Gwen heard a young man shout and she rolled her eyes, depositing her books in her locker before wading across the crowded hall to the young man.

"Problem Brian?" she asked.

"Just my stupid locker again," Brian grumped. She rolled up her left sleeve and said, "Let me try…"

"Whatever," but he let her try.

Gripping the locker handle and lock, she muttered beneath her breath, "Angulus patefacio …" and it opened easily.

"There you go."

"I loosened it for you," he sulked, trying to preserve his ego.

"Maybe." She conceded, "Anyway, the handle seems jammed; I can get someone to fix it, just shut it to where it looks closed but isn't."

"Right. Thanks."

"Your welcome." She waded back across, edging through people, while hitting a speed-dial.

"What happened?" was his short greeting.

"I got a favor to ask," she replied, accustomed to, and actually kind of charmed, by his directness, "A classmate of mine has a faulty locker—"

"So? Call in the janitor, it's his job—"

"Except that they'll put in work order and it'll be done only in the summer; all it is is a jammed opening mechanism…please Kev…"

She heard him grumble something under his breath before, "Fine, what number and where?"

"C Building, first floor, locker number one hundred four. You're the best…"

"Yeah, right…" he didn't sound too convinced of the fact.

"You really are Kev," the bell rung, "I gotta run; see ya 'round?"

"Course. Still on for movie night? Benji and Julie skipped out…"

"Yeah, if we can even start the movie before we get called out. Be careful kay?"

"Course, same to you."

"I try, bye."

"See ya."

And she hung up, already running to her class.

Somewhere during the period a young janitor showed up and, after showing the necessary credentials and papers, proceeded to fix the broken locker. He muttered grumpily about leashes, lost balls, and stupid people as he worked. He fondly remembered the days when he didn't care about other people's opinions of him, the days when he looked out for himself and only himself. He sighed; those days were long gone; now he was a whipped man. Quickly the job was finished; he crossed the hall to her locker and, dialing in her combination to open it, left a gift in it before heading off.

In geometry the redhead stared at the board boredly and yawned. The teacher's droning voice became, "Blah blah babalah bablah blah—." She knew this stuff already; had the work done already. And so she zoned out; becoming one with cosmic energy for awhile. Leaving her fleshy costume, she entered the streams of energy and floated along for a while, enjoying the freedom and pure feeling. But soon she had to go back, it was time for lunch. She stopped by her locker, to drop off her textbook, and opened it to find a shoddily wrapped gift.

She smiled softly, recognizing the workmanship, and took it with her.

She sat beneath an old tree, she couldn't tell the genus of it, off to the side of the mostly unused baseball field. With great care she unwrapped the gift and gasped; it was a dagger. On blade was detailed a thorny rose, glistening ruby and emerald against the silver steel backdrop. It was sharp enough to cut a falling leaf as the leaf floated down innocently; the blade was thinner than a piece of normal binder paper and the point pierced her finger as she touched it lightly. The hilt was of black, corded leather and golden thread. The blade curved slightly, like a talon of some sort.

She noticed a note_: Beautiful and Dangerous, Like You_.

Well she didn't know whether to melt from the compliment or be worried that he thought she was a danger. She settled for another soft smile but made a mental note to have a talk with him. She then began to chuckle, she had been wondering why there was an empty sheath on her belt. Orenda must have seen the dagger. Carefully she placed the dagger in its spot at her waist just as the afternoon class bell rang.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four: Tiger, Tiger**

_**Rated: K+**_

"You bought a tiger?" she was absolutely flabbergasted, "You bought a _**TIGER**_?!"

The young cub in question pawed at her shins. "His name's Ajit."

Her jaw dropped; "What? You heard the kid; he said I have him, Anyando, and Aza."

"YOU GOT THE OTHER TWO TOO?!" she dropped to the couch, "Kev, these are going to be big animals…"

"Which is why I bought the old base of La Soladad and the acres surrounding it; the crews are already on site as we speak. They're turning the base into a house complex."

"Kevin, it's too early…"

"Two and a half more years actually; I saw them at Argit's and knew I had to get them…"

"How much?" she asked carefully. She didn't want to know why he had been at that bastard rat's place.

"Two grand each," he shrugged, "pretty cheap actually."

She nodded; she had helped him actually file his taxes (hers, Ben's, and Julie's went through Plumber HQ) and so knew that six thousand dollars put hardly a dent into his illicitly gained fortune. In layman's terms he was richer than Bill Gates; apparently he had charged vast sums for his brokering skills, and now he added to it by way of his Plumber checks; those were very decent as he worked with high-risk people. Now most of his wealth was squirreled away on various planets in case things ever went to hell on any other planet he happened to be a resident of at the time, but he kept a comfortably large amount on earth; in an actual, legal, Swiss, bank account. But his living expenses were insignificant at best; he kept a crappy apartment for the ability to just grab a pre-packed emergency duffel bag and run. He ate simply, he could cook but he hardly had the time or energy to anymore and so lived off fast-food or TV dinners. Laundry was simple; he often wore the same outfit for days in a row because of all the dirt and grime he dealt with either working on his car or during Plumber work; she had just charmed hers to stay clean, it saved so much time and energy (Ben and Julie just seemed to have multiple identical outfits).

She sighed; what could she do? He was right; Devlin had mentioned that he would get the cats sooner than later. She tried not to think about the fact that in three months shy of two years she would give birth to their firstborn son. She was eighteen at the moment, turning nineteen during the summer. This meant that she would be a couple months shy of her twenty-first birthday when Devlin entered the world.

She picked the cub of by the scruff of the neck, supporting his weight with a hand to his chest, and settled him on her lap. Ajit was a rare white tiger; with emerald eyes. He chuffed at her, making the so called 'Stinky Face' to get a better sample of her scent. Once happy he simply curled up in her lap and went to sleep.

"Hey," Kevin started suddenly, "when the renovations are done I want you to move in with me."

Her head snapped up and she stared at him in shock, "Wha—?"

"It won't be for awhile," he quickly told her, "and you'll have your own room and everything…"

She seemed to think something over before nodding almost hesitantly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five: Early Bird**

_**Rated: T**_

Her cell phone work her up, added to the screeching of brakes, "Whaz gonna on Ben?" she slurred into the phone, still mostly asleep.

"_**JULIE WENT INTO LABOR!!!**_" Ben screamed and that woke her up; she jumped from her bed and ran to the window, opening it up, running out down manna steps and seeing Kevin's car at the curb. "I'm coming; she's early!"

"You think we don't know that?!"

"Has her water broken?" she jumped into her customary seat and Kevin took off.

"YES!"

"You know what Ben? Calm the hell down, you're making it worse for them, we're pulling into the driveway now. Bye." She hung up, dropping her cell and leaping from the car while it was still in motion and hightailed it into the house and Cooper's lab.

Kevin entered the building at a leisurely pace, taking up his post in keeping Ben from stroking out. His friend was terrified of losing his girlfriend because of this.

"Calm down," Kevin rumbled, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed, "they'll be fine."

"How do you know?!"

"I just do. So calm down before I hafta knock your ass out."

Downstairs things were moving along smoothly.

"My, my, my," Gwen chuckled as she pulled on surgical gloves, "he's an impatient little boy isn't he?"

"You're sure you know what you're doing?" Julie asked nervously between contractions.

"Oh sure, I've seen Animal Planet's '_**Growing Up…**_' series," Gwen spoke still lightly, "besides it's all just catching, right; like in football," she laughed at the look of pure horror and disbelief on her friend's face, before revealing, "Julie, I'm kidding; you really think that Ben would let me do this if I wasn't professionally trained? The community college has classes on midwifery; I took them, and a few classes on newborn medical care, and got this nifty little certificate saying I'm certified as a last resort basic midwife. If anything goes wrong, once he's out Cooper will take over. Heck, Cooper would be doing this himself if he wasn't so squeamish about looking at your 'va jay jay'…"

"I resent that statement!" Cooper called from his curtained platform.

"Then you get your butt down here and do your job Mr.-I-Got-My-Medical-License-At-Fifteen! You're the certified doctor and surgeon; this's your job, not mine. You've been her OBGYN for the duration."

"Nevermind."

"Have you ever done this before," Julie questioned, "for real?"

"Nope," Gwen said cheerfully, "this's the first time everything's for keeps; but don't worry I passed all the practical exams with flying colors; everything's gonna be just fine. Ready? Set. _**Go**_!"

Upstairs things were not going so smoothly.

Already Ben had had to be bound and gagged for his own safety but when she starting screaming he actually broke the Plumber handcuffs while he was still human. Kevin sighed, pulling a gasmask out and putting it on before throwing out a small pellet. The capsule released a green gas upon hitting the ground. This gas should've knocked even Rath out but Ben stayed conscious. A red ball then hit the air, this one pumping out a gas designed to take down Humongasaur but somehow he stayed conscious. A blue pellet was what finally downed poor, frantic Ben and that pumped out a gas meant to take down Way Big. The air soon cleared but Ben stayed down and Kevin finally relaxed.

Downstairs

"C'mon Julie," Gwen encouraged the woman, "you've done things harder than this!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT GWEN? _**FUCK YOU**_! THIS HURTS LIKE _**HELL**_!" was the reply she received and she chuckled, knowing for a fact that she wasn't overreacting. She also didn't dare tell her that she'd have at least three more children.

A head with a puff of wispy brunette hair crowned before the baby finally entered the world completely.

"Hello Kenny," Gwen greeted softly as she readied him for his mother. Once he was cleared of health issues and cleaned of birthing gunk, which also had to be mopped up from the floor, he was handed to an exhausted Julie who smiled and said, "If Ben is awake send him down will you please?"

"Of course." The redhead headed up the stairs from the lab, stripping the now used gloves off her hands and throwing them away as she did so, found Ben just regaining consciousness and knelt beside him, poking him and saying, "Ben, you have a son waiting for you downstairs." This caused him to jump up, wavering slightly, and head downstairs at a run.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six: Birthday Surprises**

_**Rated: K+**_

She was getting ready for her nineteenth birthday party. The last birthday party, for herself, she would willingly go to. She had already dyed her hair, she had woken up bleached again; and put it into a high ponytail. She was already almost completely dressed; save for her belt, cloak, and boots.

She had clicked together the belt's ends, dialing in the combination that locked it tightly, and was about to pull on her cloak when a small wormhole opened up and a holo-deck recorder dropped into her hands with a sticky note saying 'Play Me' in messy, obviously that of a child, handwriting. Intrigued she pulled the note off and pressed play, astonished when it started up and a boy appeared. "Hi Mama!" the image greeted ecstatically, "Happy Birthday! Mama said I could send you this if I wanted to and so I did! I recorded it all by myself too! I just wanted to wish you, and Uncle Ben, a happy birthday. Love you, bye." The image faded away and she sat there stunned.

There was a knock at her door but when she didn't answer it the knocker came in uninvited.

"C'mon Gwen," Kevin whined, "what's the holdup? Let's go."

She didn't reply and so he went to stand behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently starting to shake her. When that failed to get a response he pried the holo-deck from her hands, hit rewind and then pressed play to view the message.

"Ahhh," he said when the communication was through, understanding her silence. He set the disc down on her dresser and then began manually dressing her.

"He sent back a birthday message?" she wondered finally.

"Yep." He grunted.

"Why? I don't know him…"

"Doesn't matter, you're his mother and so he loves you whether or not he exists here yet so he sent you a card." He straightened her cloak before kissing her cheek, muttering into her ear as he lingered, "Enjoy it, you deserve it," before pulling back, taking her hand, and, after letting her get into her boots, tugging her out of the room, down the stairs and out to his car.

He drove them to the park where the entire Bellwood based Tennyson clan had gathered and set up a barbeque party.

"And where do you think you're going?" she bit out at him when he made to leave.

"I ain't family," he spoke calmly.

"No, you're an idiot. Stay." she ordered.

"No, I shou—"

_**Click**_.

"You carry _**handcuffs**_ in your belt?" he sputtered, shocked that she had gone so far as to handcuff them together to prevent him from leaving.

"Well, I never know when I'm gonna need them…" she grinned, dragging his stunned form into the party. They found Julie, looking rather annoyed, sitting at a picnic table.

"He's turned our son into a bubble boy," she growled at their questioning looks, pointing out to the field where Jet-ray, holding a baby boy in a clear plastic bubble, performed aerial acrobatics.

"And why did he put Kenny in a bubble?" Gwen inquired as she, and by extension Kevin, sat down.

"He's worried about pollution, viruses, and other such nonsense—"

"Doesn't he realize that he needs to build up his immune system?"

"You tell him that; he's a nervous wreck about the two of us."

"And how can he justify doing loop-de-loops then?"

"The bubble has a separate gravity field. Kenny's suspended in mid-air in that bubble, he can't feel the G-forces, and it won't ever hit the earth as it's designed to automatically hover if it leaves our hands…three…two…one…" she directed their attention to the aerial show and they watched as Ben let his sphere bound son drop from his hands. Kenny did indeed float, leaving Ben free to do more complex flight maneuvers around him. The three month old giggled and laughed, trying to wave at the thing zooming around him.

"'Cuse me," Julie got up and stalked away, after her boyfriend and their son.

"Ben's an idiot." It was agreed swiftly.

"Kiddo!" a cheery voice called, making Gwen spin around to see her Grandmother.

"Grandma Verdona!" she called in response, getting up, dragging her date with her, to hug the woman tightly.

Verdona hugged back but kept her eye on the young man, reading his mind quickly; she smiled softly, "Kevin, do not worry; things will go the way they are destined to." He nodded, with a grateful smile.

Once the old being wandered off to see her first great grandson, she was disappointed Kenny wasn't a girl though, Gwen demanded, "What was she talking about?"

He shifted his weight nervously, worrying her because he never ever did that, looking at her feet.

"Kev…"

Something small hit her chest then crashed down on her toes. She glared at him, he was still looking anywhere but her face, before bending over to pick up the object. She froze; a black cube. Reaching down slowly she picked it up with disbelief and looked at it before looking back to him. He was turning red now and his eyes were closed.

"What's this?" she asked softly, wanting him to verify what she was thinking it was.

"What do you think?" he snapped, basically confirming her thoughts. Just to be sure before she said anything she opened the box and nearly choked.

The ring was very plain. It was simple gold and had no diamond; a diamond or similar was inappropriate for someone working for the Plumbers, as a rock would get in the way not to mention a dozen other possible mishaps to be caused by a gem.

She looked back to him, "Yes."


	7. Chapter 7

**Part Seven: Weirdoes**

_**Rated: K+**_

An eyebrow rose in worried interest. Clare Baron, aged six, wasn't playing with the other students.

Gwen was going into early childhood education and, as a requirement for her early childhood education class, was a teacher's aide at Bellwood Elementary in a first grade class. True, she had never seen the other children interact with the girl in question unless forced too. It was also true that she had sensed something…_**off**_ about Clare the first time she had met her and held a sneaking suspicion the girl was not fully human as the other kids seemed to be.

Clare looked up as her teacher's helper plopped down beside her in the grassy field, "You gonna make me play with them?"

"Nah," Gwen replied in the same voice she used to talk to her own aged friends, she felt that to use sugar-coated voice on children was the same as insulting them. "You don't like them do you?"

Clare was blonde, blue eyed and ghostly white even though she sat in the sun for the entirety of every recess.

"They don't like me…like I care…"

Gwen frowned, that sounded far too familiar for comfort, "And why don't they like you?"

"I'm a freak."

"No you're not!" was the instinctive reply; the redhead took a deep, calming breath before asking, "Why do you think that?"

"'Cause I'm a freak. I do freaky stuff."

"Like what?"

"Nothing, nevermind." Clara quickly closed down, fearing that she gave too much away.

"Clare, you know that I'd never do anything to hurt you right?"

"You'll run away, you won't like me anymore."

"I think you'll find I won't do that…"

Clare bit her lip, "Okay, but don't tell Daddy I told you."

"I won't unless you or someone else's getting hurt," Gwen warned.

Clare nodded slowly, that was fair enough, before shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath. The grass around them withered and died. The child opened her hand to reveal a yellow orb of energy. She exhaled and it disappeared; she looked fearfully to the adult, saying, "See? Freaky…"

"Oh Clare, that's a good thing. Doesn't anyone in your family do that too?"

"No, Mommy did but she had to go away when I was really little…"

"Watch what I can do then." Gwen summoned her own, pink, energy. Clare's eyes went wide, "You're like me!"

"Yep."

"What am I?"

"Part alien, a race called Anodites. Only girls get the power so when my grandmother had two sons they didn't get the powers but when my Dad and Mom had me I got them. Your Mom was probably one. You are very special Clare; don't let anyone tell you anything else…"

"But you're so normal!"

"I've learned to control my powers—"

"Freaky things don't happen when you get mad?" Clare asked incredulously.

"They used too and sometimes still do when I get really really mad."

"Can you teach me?!"

"A little, in Anodite time I'm still a kid too and you're still just a baby."

"No way."

"Oh yes, very 'way'. When you're older, my age, I can ask my Grandmother to take you to Anodine, it's the Anodites' earth, to train."

"You didn't get to go?" Clare asked confusedly.

"I got the choice and I decided to stay to help humans stay safe. Some aliens, there're many many many many many more types than Anodites, aren't very nice and so it's my job to stop them. I'm like a space cop."

"Does your boyfriend know?"

Gwen smiled, leaning in closely, "He's a space cop too. He's part alien like us but not Anodite because he's a boy."

"The other boy too?"

"Oh Ben? Yeah but he's a special one; that weird watch he wears lets him change into a million nine hundred and ninety-nine different aliens. One at a time though."

"And the girl?"

"Julie? No. she's just human but she has this special alien dog that's part machine and he can turn into all types of things so she's a space cop who uses him like a robot suit; like Iron Man. My Grandpa, the one that married the alien, is a space cop too. He's just human though."

"How many aliens and space cops are on earth?"

"Hundreds; and they all look normal and act mostly normal too. Some are bad though. Just like humans. But we don't make crop circles and most of us don't kidnap cows and humans."

The bell rang, "C'mon. It's time for class. You'll keep my secrets right Clare?"

"Duh."

Gwen stood up and helped her young friend up and they headed back to the building.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part Eight: The Binder**

_**Rated: T**_

"Hey," he called, seeing a binder on her desk, "what's this?"

"What's what?" she replied from the closet where she was getting dressed.

"The binder on your desk," he rolled his eyes, "and why can't I turn around?"

"Because I don't have a shirt on."

"So?"

"Kevin."

"Not like I haven't seen everything—"

"Kevin! My parents are home and if my dad hears you—"

"But I was saving your life!"

"He won't care; he'll skin you."

"Oh fine. When should we break it to them?"

"After they've had something to drink…" she came to him asking, "now what binder are you talking about?"

"That one, the purple one right there." He pointed it out and she flushed, grabbing it, stuttering, "Nothing, nothing Kev; it's nothing."

An eyebrow rose, "Doesn't sound like nothing. Let me see," he pulled it from her hands and opened it to see his own image. He flipped the page over only to be greeted by Charmcaster.

"What's this?" he demanded and she averted her eyes, saying, "It's a compilation of my final art projects. The first one was the first part of the stranger project. Charmcaster is what came out when I had to give every thing I hate, everything that disgusts me a human form…no don't!" he had turned the page.

"What was he for?" he asked in a strained whisper as he looked at his past self.

"My greatest fear…"

It was so quiet one would hear a pin drop onto the carpet.

"You're that afraid of me?" he sounded so tired, defeated; like he wanted to curl up under a rock and die.

"No! No! No!" she jumped to correct him, "I'm afraid of losing you to him, again."

"But I'll never try to absorb the Omn—"

"No, not the mutation, you idiot! I couldn't give a damn about the mutation! I'm afraid you'll go crazy like that! That's what I'm afraid of; of losing you to all the crap that's happened to you!"

She was flushed in the face, panting heavily as if she had just run a mile the Normal way. Her eyes sparked, as if daring him to refute her words. Wisely he didn't; he merely turned the page. The next image was more tie-dye than anything else, very groovy, with incomprehensible symbols. The next was an older Gwen. The next few pages were just a bunch of boxes with letters combined and scribblings that weren't complete thoughts but just notes. There were also, both incomplete and complete, diagrams of DNA double helixes with their own notes and labels and crossing-outs. They looked at the pages and then each other before breaking into laughter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part Nine: Silver**

_**Rated: T**_

"Hey Gwen, did you do something to your hair?"

She froze in terror, harshly gulping down her mouthful of smoothie, squeaking, "What'd'ya mean?"

Her cousin, having been forced out of his house by his well-meaning girlfriend and dragged to his former favorite hang-out by their friends, seemed to think before saying, "It looks lighter. Pinker."

She was up and running to the restroom before he even finished his sentence. She slammed the door open to see her worst nightmare in the mirror. The magic was wearing off; it was wearing off even though she had reaffirmed it that morning. She ran into a stall and bolted the door, already whispering the spell, "Facio meus niveus crinis inclino tenus rutilus."

There was no burning, no tingling; she tried again, more desperately this time, "_Facio meus niveus crinis inclino tenus rutilus_!"

Still nothing and she tried for a third time, "_**Facio**_ _**meus niveus crinis inclino tenus rutilus**__**!**_"

She began to sob quietly; her human life was over. Her parents would find out and ship her off to Verdona, thinking it best. She would turn into a Charmcaster look-alike and most probably she would lose the love of her life. All because of damned magic. In a childish fit of anger she wrenched the engagement ring from her finger and threw it to the ground. It tinkled musically as it bounced on the tiled floor, arching high into the air, before finally landing for good. It sat there glistening mockingly in the dim and dirty light. He wouldn't want to be with her, it would be too much like marrying the enemy.

And who could blame him? She knew she sure wouldn't want to wake up next to a Mike Morningstar every morning. Besides if she was going to look like her nemesis who's to say she wouldn't start acting like her?

She then began crying even harder, having realized just how seriously she had screwed up. Devlin and his siblings would never be born. In effect she had killed her own children. Abortion was one thing but she had murdered them because they had already been born in the future timeline, already tasted independent life; this she knew for irrefutable fact. If she could have only held it together for two more years, for Devlin at least… his birthday card to her echoed in her mind. He had trusted her so completely with information about the future; about his world, his life, and she totally effed everything up.

She slowly stopped crying and froze herself, robotically reaching down to pick up the ring. She pulled the hood of her cloak up and exited the stall. She cleaned the saltwater streaks from her face and then exited the room.

"What happened?" Kevin demanded the moment she was outside. She merely shook her head, took his hand and placed the ring in his palm only to manually close his hand about it, stood up on the tips of her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek before turning and walking away at a determined pace. She headed home. It was best to face the music now than delay the inevitable.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part Ten: Shatter**

_**Rated: T**_

_**(A direct continuance of Part Nine: Silver)**_

Kevin stared after her when he suddenly felt, with dread, the previously cold metal being warmed by his hand. Almost in an incredulous trance-like daze he opened his palm to see the ring.

As clichéd as it sounded the world literally went cold for him, it felt as if he had suddenly been gutted by a very blunt and very hot blade, as though he was both drowning and burning alive at the same time. It felt as if a thousand tiny blades were slowly and methodically skinning him alive. He wanted to vomit; he did.

As he crouched, hands on his knees, bent over, he heard Ben run up, demanding, "What's going on?"

He couldn't string the words together; he couldn't even put the words together in his mind. His chest wouldn't, couldn't, expand; his lungs were refusing air as the rest of his organs shriveled and turned to ash.

He had been so sure they would make it, so sure. They knew the future right? They were supposed to get hitched, set up house together and raise a pack of troublemakers while living in what amounted to a private zoo…he just didn't understand, he couldn't understand. What had gone wrong…what had he done wrong? What had he done so badly that it made her turn her back on everything they already had and everything they were going to have?

Fire burned through his veins and he knew what was happening but couldn't summon the strength to fight it. Why should he? His life wasn't worth anything anymore; he had nothing, no one to fight for. He was alone again and it was worse this time for he had tasted true happiness.

Distantly he heard the mortals screaming, most likely running away in blind panic, as he began to grow; he heard Ben fall back, swearing, "_**Holy sh**_—!"

The fire trickled over his body as his clothes tore and fell to pieces. He went blind for a moment as his face realigned to make room for two more eyes, also twisting an existing eye to the side. His bones cracked and grew, shrunk and groaned. Blood spurted as two canine arms ripped from his abdomen. His left arm hardened into living crystal while his right melted into living magma. Insect wings tore from his shoulder blades as his legs morphed, his feet curling into balls.

Soon it was over; he was a monster again and he found he didn't care. The ring had fallen away from him, still glinting irreverently in the now brighter light.

Almost comically, the hulking beast fell onto his buttocks and looked numbly at the world around him. It was so happy and peaceful. Why couldn't he be happy; why couldn't he be with the one he loved?

Once upon a time, seemingly so long ago, these injustices would have enraged him. It was understandable; life had taken so much from him, because of things he could barely understand at the times and so he had every right to be angry. And it had happened once again. But now he was just exhausted. Not only physically, not only mentally, but at the most basic level of consciousness he was tired. Of life.

Besides apparently he wasn't meant to play the game. Everything he tried his hand at eventually went south for him and anyone, anything, involved. Business, love, sport, everything.

"Benji." He rumbled, shocking his friend, "I need you to do me a personal favor…"

"Yeah sure…" the human brunette said, nodding.

"Kill me." It was a very simple request and Ben was the Big Damn Hero of whatever they were in and Big Damn Heroes were obligated by moral contractual obligation to help friends and strangers in any way they could.

"Uh… any particular reason?" Ben asked, stalling for time as he tried to figure out how to fix this.

"Life sucks, Gwen left me; I ruin everything I even think about. I'm tired." This was delivered unenthusiastically.

"And why did she leave you?" Ben demanded.

The monster shrugged, "Dunno. Can't figure it out. Doesn't matter does it? I'm not good enough, ergo I wanna die."

"Alright," Ben seemingly agreed, "let me go psyche myself up for it kay?" he slumped off to the men's room, went into a stall, locked the door and then hurriedly dialed for Gwen.

----

She was writing a living will, dividing up her possessions amongst her friends and family. She had already packed her spellbooks and magic instruments into her footlocker. Her parents had done as she thought they would and had contacted Verdona.

Her cell phone rang and she jumped to grab it as it was the emergency ringtone.

"What's going on?!" she demanded, belting up.

"Kevin wants me to kill him!"

Her eyes widened, dropping the phone to the floor. Without realizing it she flew out the window, diffusing from one side of the glass to the other and streaked to Mr. Smoothy's. She found him sitting there, staring at the sky with an almost endearingly perplexed look.

Her hood was up, casting her face into shadows.

"Kev." she called softly and he snapped to stare down at her, "Kev, what's wrong?" her voice was gentle and comforting; she had worked him though some pretty dire straits using just such a voice.

"What did I do wrong?" he pled and her heart splintered into ashes, "Please, I'll fix it."

"You did nothing, Kev," she assured him, "it's me…I'm not good enough anymore…"

"Why?"

She bit her lip but lowered her hood anyway, revealing her almost completely white hair. "I'm turning into Charmcaster and if I do you'll hate me."

"No, I won't. I could never hate you Gwen…" his voice too was soft.

"You will. One morning you'll wake up next to Charmcaster and you'll hate me for it," she shook her head, averting her eyes, "My parents are making me go to Anodine anyways so…"

"You aren't leaving because of something as stupid as hair-color," he rumbled, "I'm not losing you because of your hair color. It's a stupid reason to break things off. I don't care what or who you look like…"

He bent over to push himself onto his feet, feet and legs that by all logic should not have been able to carry his immense mass, and walk over to pick her up in the soft canine arms.

"I'm not losing you." He rumbled again, cradling her against his chest, keeping his two upper arms hanging at his sides so as they wouldn't crush her by accident, "We won't get married but I'm not losing you for anything."

"Kev…don't do this…"

"No Gwen! _**I AM NOT LOSING YOU**_!"

She nodded, whispering, "But you need to go back to being you."

He nodded and set her down, closing all four eyes and concentrating. He began to shrink and soften and become human once more. He fell forward as he morphed; she caught him before he hit the dirt, wrapping a cloth of manna around his waist to prevent anything from showing as his clothes were completely gone. She pulled off her own cloak once he was completely human and wrapped it around him. He shivered as though feverish, while his body got its' internal homeostasis back, as he lay against her. She was sitting in a meditative position and his head and shoulders lay in her lap, resting against her abdomen.

"I'm so sorry Kev," she apologized in anguish but he gave her a shaky smirk, saying through chatting teeth, "'S okay. I f-for-forgive you. G-g-goddamn, th-is p-p-part s-s-sucks!"

She chuckled sadly, nodding her agreement. He broke out in a cold sweat but said, "I'm h-hun-hungry," which was a good sign that the readjustment period was nearly over. She summoned to them her nearly untouched smoothie and had him drink it.

After that she helped him to the car, into the backseat, while Ben drove.

"You b-better be careful Benji."

The Tennysons rolled their eyes in unison. He could have been dying and he would still worry about his car.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part Eleven: Past **

_**Rated: K+**_

"Why do we have to do this?"

"Because apparently we cheated my mother out of a second wedding…and Dad needs the wine…"

"Nuh uh, no wine…too fancy…"

"Kev. This has the same rules as an actual wedding; the bride makes all the big decisions; all the groom does is show up and repeat what he's told to. We having wine, get over it."

He grumbled beneath his breath before asking, "How big's this gonna be?"

She sighed, swirling around on her desk with a notepad and pen, "Well I've been able to talk my Mom outta a big event but as of now this's the guest list; Mom and Dad are a given, Ken and Barbara (his wife, you remember her don't you? Don't worry she's been let in on the secret and is okay with our weirdness); Ben, Julie and Kenny (They don't feel safe using a babysitter, go figure), Uncle Frank and Aunt Sandra, Grandpa Max and Grandma Verdona (you'll be nice to her or your car gets it), Cooper (he's handling security and he's a good friend, plus he's found this lovely alien/human hybrid girl to bring along) and Paradox if he can spare the time…" she looked rather hesitant as she asked, "Anyone on your side you want there?"

"Nope. If I invite Mom then Step-Ass'll come and ruin it all and she's told whatever family we've left that I was killed in a random, freak accident at a carnival…"

"Dear god; Kev I swear I did—"

"I know I know; you didn't know and wanted my input on the guest list…but it's in the past eh?" he smiled but his eyes were hard and bitter. She put aside the notepad and pen to join him on her bed, putting her arms around him and her head on his shoulder, saying softly, "You know, it's okay to get upset about it…"

"Why should I?" he muttered, "It'll do no good. Besides I only knew Mom's family and they really didn't like me."

"Because if you don't get upset at least once about things like that then you're burying the issues which is not mentally healthy…or you're going back into socio-psychopathic tendencies…either way isn't good…and if you only get angry about it that's another bad sign…sometimes it's healthy to break down and have a good cry."

"It happened so long ago," he muttered, "its long over and there's nothin' I can do about it now anyways…"

"Alright." She let it go, knowing it would do no good to push him. He yawned, making her smile sadly, "Nightmares?"

He shook his head, blinking wearily, "Only the usual…"

"Then lie down, sleep…" she carefully applied pressure to his torso, forcing him to lie back on her bed.

"Stay with me."

"Of course," she lay beside him; his arm was around her waist, holding her tightly secured against his side. Her head found its pillow in his chest, her ear above his heart so she could listen to its stable thrum.

Within minutes he was asleep though his grip on her didn't relax. As soon as she was sure he was out her face fell into a frown.

She had known his childhood was not the most ideal one but for his own mother to tell the rest of his family that he had died? Thus making any possible contact with them impossible? That was a whole different level of sick and wrong. As they went about their duties she often wondered how people, even nonhuman people, do what they did but this? The bonds between family were supposed to be sacred, especially that of a mother and her child. This was sick and wrong and perverse and…she didn't have a word strong enough to describe the evilness of such a broken bond.

His heart went into a faster paced rhythm. She sat up and began whispering to him soothing words and he calmed, twitching ever so slightly every so often.

She couldn't understand why he was shunned. He was such an amazing person; he'd have to be to have survived everything he had had thrown at him and she didn't even know his whole story.

She just didn't understand it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part Twelve: "Gears grinding, Ropes binding, Coils winding—" **

_**Rated: T **_

_**Author's Note: I do not own the song in this chapter.**_

"Nuh uh. No way. No dancing," he was firm on this, "I reek at dancing…"

"C'mon, you did well enough that one time…" she tried to convince him.

"And I spent all week practicing and that was four years ago meaning I've forgotten everything…Howzabout sparring? Everyone says it looks like dancing…"

"My Dad'll be watching Kev. Us sparring tends to devolve into… he'll strangle you." Her eyes got a dangerous spark, "A Death Trap!"

"'cuse me?" he asked confusedly.

"Instead of a dance we could get put into a Death Trap to break out of together; our time limit could be the length of the song we choose…"

His eyes began to twinkle as well, "But who'll set it up for us?"

"Cooper and Ben probably would; it wouldn't be lethal but they know all of our weaknesses so it would definitely be a challenge."

"I like it; as long as we have no idea of what they're putting us in it should be fun…"

"Right, we go in cold and work from there."

They smirked; this was more like them than dancing could ever be…

----

"Let me get this straight," Cooper spoke incredulously, pronouncing each word clearly, "You want me and Ben to build a _**DEATH TRAP**_ for you two to go through, together, at your we—celebration?"

"Yep," Kevin nodded with a smirk, "The most complicatedly clichéd and difficult but non-killing Death Trap you can built within the next two months, specifically tailored to give Gwen an' me a run for our money."

"A death trap?"

"Non-lethal death trap," he corrected quickly.

"So a _**non-deadly**_ death trap…?

"Right. A showy one, it's just for entertainment."

"An escape-in-tandem, non-deadly death trap?"

"Yep. With flames and poison spikes and everything else."

The blonde scratched his head, "Okay." He quickly began at which Kevin left.

He was able to get into the car before she manifested in her customary seat. She was grinning, holding a CD in her hands.

"I found it!" she slid it into the CD player of the car and the strands of a classic tango with some decidedly un-classic lyrics…

"_I ache for the touch of your lips, dear/  
But much more for the touch of your whips, dear./  
You can raise welts/  
Like nobody else…_"

And a little further in;

"_Your eyes cast a spell that bewitches./  
The last time I needed twenty stitches/  
To sew up the gash/  
That you made with your lash_…"

"_**Niiiiccccceeee**_…" he spoke, a grin coming over his face.

"Isn't it?"

"How long?"

"Five short of three."

"Prefect."

"Yep. So this's it?"

"This's it."

The car started up and began moving, "Cooper agreed?"

"Cooper agreed. One most horribly clichéd, difficult tandem escape non-deadly Death Trap coming up." He looked to her, "I need to bring Ajit, Aza, and Anyando to this."

"They've been mortal trained right?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

"Okay dokey then."


	13. Chapter 13

**Part Thirteen**: "**For a super sav, Death Trap**!"

_**Rated: T**_

"_**AIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**_!"

"_**AZA**_!"

The year and a half old lioness spun around and saw her mistress.

"You know not to jump," Gwen chided her pet, "go find the other two…"

'Aza' loped off.

"Sorry Mom," Gwen grinned, "She's still just a cub. Wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Why is there a lion here…?"

"Kev couldn't find a handler for the afternoon…"

"He owns…?"

"A lioness, Aza, a black panther, Anyando, and a white tiger, Ajit. We own them jointly. Plus my elephant, Bem…"

"You own an…"

"She's back at the ranch right now." She looked at her watch and pulled out a walkie-talkie, "Coop, almost ready?"

"Sure, five more…"

"Kay. You heard that Kev?"

"Yep," came the reply, "I've just been waiting…"

She chuckled, "Just five more Kev."

"Five what til what?" her mother asked worriedly.

"Five minutes til show-time Mom."

"'Show-time'?"

"Yep. Can't tell you though."

"Ready Gwen." Cooper's voice sounded over the walkie-talkie.

"It's show time." She pulled off her cloak, wrapped her dagger in it and simply sent the bundle home. She slipped from her shoes and set them on a chair while saying into her radio, "Ben, Tom Lehrer please."

"Right. Be careful okay?"

"'Course."

And she moved towards the _something_ in the area which was covered by a sheet. Three stories high the something looked rickety but wide at the base.

She came to be standing next to Kevin, he had pulled off his flannel over-shirt, at the end of the—whatever it was.

Cooper came out from beneath the covering, wearing a wielding mask. He put up the visor, looking tired and worried, "It's ready. Though I got a failsafe remote to freeze everything if it doesn't look like you two'll make it. Deal?"

"Deal."

He pulled out a radio and called, "Let 'er rip Ellie."

Ellie, Cooper's 'not-my-girlfriend' girlfriend, replied with, "Right oh Coop," before a crane pulled off the covering to reveal _**THE**_ rollercoaster from _**HELL**_.

The Tennyson family gasped while the two who were going into it just smirked.

Flamethrowers, hammers and mallets, spikes of metal, darts lined both sides of the curvy and wavy track which did indeed feature a couple of loop-de-loops just for good measure.

"This'll be good."

A ladder manifested to the starting point, "Ladies first."

"Very chivalrous Kev," she rolled her eyes at him and walked up to Cooper who wrapped a power inhibitor around her wrist before she headed up to the cart. It was a block of metal on wheels with two metal full body restraint sets.

"I might wanna take this home with us," Kevin commented as she was being put into hers; she rolled her eyes, "'Course _**you**_ would…"

_**Clinch**_. _**Clunk**_. _**THUD**_.

"Those are always comforting sounds."

"Giving up?"

"Never."

Once they were securely secured in and Cooper triple checked the braking system they were left perched on a thirty foot high hill.

"Ready you two?" Cooper's voice called over a megaphone.

"_**WE'VE BEEN READY**_!"

And so the cart began creeping forward as the explanation part of Tom Lehrer's "_The Masochism Tango_" sounded loudly enough for them to hear.

"Oh hell." Kevin said as an all too familiar buzzing sound became apparent, "They've electrified every_**TTHHHHIIIIIIIIING**_!" they dropped suddenly like a stone, "_**WOOOHOOO**_!"

Gwen laughed, calling, "_**THEN WE'LL BOTH HAVE TO DO THIS THE NORMAL WAY**_! _**CAN YOU REACH MY BELT**_!?"

"_**HELLO I'M BOLTED DOWN**_?!"

She chuckled derisively to herself, "It's always like this." Before letting her body go completely lax. She was able to slip one hand out of the cuffing apparatus, unfortunately her unfavorable one. She began feeling around her own belt to find, "Ah ha!", her lock-picker.

"_**FLAMETHROWER**_!" they pressed themselves flat against the cart, feeling the heat uncomfortably closely and getting a couple hairs singed, before she continued. Quickly she picked the locks around her good hand which allowed her to work much faster.

"_**LOOP-DE-LOOP**_!"

Her face morphed into an '_**Oh Crap**_!' face and, quickly biting down on her tool to free her hands, she clung onto the protuberances of her former harness and thanked whoever was _**up there **_that she had thought to take off her shoes and was vain enough to get her nails manicured before this. Once they came out of the loop she carefully crawled over to Kevin and straddled his waist.

"Mind out of the gutter, now." She told him, knowing how his brain worked.

"Now, now, you know I can't control myself around you." He replied with a smirk, "Flamethrower." She fell, pressed completely against him. Once cleared she sat back up and continued. She freed his neck and arms and moved to the belt, "_**KEVIN**_!"

"I'm a guy!"

"I know that! But here, now? It's ridiculous…"

"Well excuse me prin—Loop-de-loop—cess!" Automatically he wrapped his arms around her waist, she wrapping her arms about his neck and using her leg muscles to cling to both him and the cart. "You're not making this any easier on me." He said into her ear.

"Later, Kev." she muttered into his.

He frowned, "You sure, 'cause if you're not ready I don't wan—"

"Trust me, I'm ready." They came out of the loop and she sat back up, finally finishing in getting him free.

"Okay, any ideas for the exit? Darts!" they went flat again to avoid the projectiles.

"You Incredible Hulk, I Batgirl?"

"I've nothing to absorb …"

"The harnesses you moron!"

"Oh right…okay…"

"We'll wait til a low point."

----

Down on the ground everyone watched, the mortals using binoculars.

"They're not gonna make it," Julie muttered to her boyfriend. Kenny was strapped to her back in a durable carrier.

"They're pros at this Jules." He replied just as lowly.

----

Up on the Rollercoaster from Hell.

"Uh Gwen…" Kevin began nervously.

"Not now Kev," she told him as she calculated his upcoming dive.

"The end is coming!"

Her head snapped up and she saw a wall of spikes coming up on them very quickly.

Automatically her hand was holding her CO2 propelled grappling hook. He absorbed the metal.

"On three…"

"Right, one…"

"Two…"

"_**THREE**_!"

Her hook shot off, catching on a nearby oak, dragging her behind it. He jumped, hitting the ground with such kinetic force that his impact sent a small seismic wave in every direction. She now sat, perched like a hunting falcon, on the branch her hook had snagged.

They had abandoned ship just before the cart hit the spikes in a spectacular fireball.

_/As we dance to the Masochism Tango__./_

The song ended as they relaxed.

"That was fun." They grinned cheekily to each other.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part Fourteen: First Blood (Or Annoying, Embarrassing, Crazy In-Laws)**

_**Rated: T**_

Light streamed in, rousing her from her sleep. She stretched and moved her head to watch her companion sleep. He looked so much younger when asleep; there was no worry, no fear and no bravado clouding his face.

"_**KIDDO**_!"

Kevin yelped, flying up and clinging to the ceiling quite like a cat. He looked around, saw Verdona and groaned, "You…of course it's you." He released his hold carefully, making sure he didn't break his neck and once safely back on the bed, and covered, wearily demanded, "You're here why?"

"First blood!" Verdona trilled as if that made all the sense in the universe.

"Come again?" Gwen stepped in, looking at her grandmother very confusedly.

"First blood!"

"Firs—_**GRANDMA**_!" she went bright scarlet, contrasting her once again white hair sharply, "It's the twenty first century! Not the thirteenth!"

"You know what she's talking about?" Kevin asked and, if at all possible, she went redder.

"You're such an odd girl Gwendolyn," Verdona spoke with distain clear in her voice. She was now floating cross-legged, "you've lain with him and yet you still stutter like a schoolgirl about a perfectly simple matter…"

"It's not the matter!" she defended, "It's you! You've broken into our home, into our bedroom and are demanding to see our bed-sheets!"

"Why?"

"Back in the Middle Ages, because men needed to ensure that their heirs were truly theirs for purposes of inheritance, a woman's virginity was very prized and the morning after she had bedded her lawful husband for the first time their bloodstained bed-sheets were displayed to prove that she had been…virtuous. Grandma Verdona here wants to see ours—"

"And deliver my wedding gift to you!" the older being defended herself; she snapped her fingers and Kevin briefly glowed, "Now show me the sheets!"

"What did you do to him!?" Gwen demanded.

"Shhhh; it's a _**secret**_. Show me the sheets."

"Not until you—!"

They were pulled from the bed, hoisted into the air by manna tentacles which kept them separated, while two more tentacles stripped the bed, holding up the actual bed sheet to the light. Right in the middle was a darkening stain of blood, "_**Wonderful**_!"

"_**GRANDMA VERDONA**_!" Gwen's voice reverberated, her eyes pink, "_**GET OUT OF MY**_ _**HOOOMMMMEEEEE**_!" the manna tentacles shattered as Verdona was forcibly ejected from the residence.

Gwen landed and went to her hands and knees, panting for her breath and summoning energy from the front and back yards. Forcibly banishing something as powerful as Verdona like that was testing her abilities. Her bangs, fallen over her eyes, tinged themselves pink.

"I'm fine." She wheezed as she was picked up.

"Sure you are," he humored her as he carried her to the kitchen. He sat her in a chair and went to the refrigerator and pulled out a metal lock box. He paused, when to a drawer in the counter and withdrew a pair of glasses. He put them on and opened the box only to begin pulling out vials of differently colored fluids and reading the labels.

"Knew I had it." He finally said, bringing a golden filled phial to her, "Drink this." She gave him a piercing look but then shrugged and downed the fluid with one gulp.

"HELLLOOOO!" the door swung open and Ben came through; he paused mid-step, stared for a second two at his two nude comrades as if in shock, reeled back out the door while covering his eyes and screaming, "OH GOD! I'M SORRY!"

Gwen snapped her fingers and clothes covered their naked forms. Julie politely knocked, received permission, and entered. Kenny, now a little over five months old, sat in his mother's arms as through he was one or two years old.

"I tried to stop him," she explained, setting her boy down to the ground. Kenny, the moment he touched the floor, scooted off. Aza came loping through the door, picked him up by the back of his overalls like she would a cub by the scruff, and carried him to the living room.

"You look tired," Julie was told, "sit down, take a load off. Kenny's been giving you problems?"

Julie smiled wearily, "No, he's just so very much his father's son. The powers have been coming through left, right, and center. Ben has the energy to keep up with it all but I don't…"

"What power was it this time?"

"Rath's claws…"

"No, it couldn't have been."

"Trust me, they were," she pulled up the left sleeve of her blouse to reveal a mass of gauze and tape covering her bicep, "I was bathing him, 'cause Ben just had to drag us over here to bug you two, when they just suddenly sprouted. And of course Kenny didn't know that they could and would hurt me so he reached out for me to pick him up and…yeah."

Finally Ben ventured back in, tentatively this time; he paled when he saw the gauze and tape, "You said it wasn't bad…" he told her softly, striding to kneel beside her and peeling the bandage off slowly, "_**Shit.**_" There was a single deep, bloody, red, trench in her arm

He looked to Kevin, "D'you have anything that'll speed things up?"

Kevin sighed and went back to the lock box, putting his reading glasses back on, and began looking through the vials once more. He quickly found the one he was looking for, it was a bright green mixture, and walked back to the table. "Here, this should help."

Ben took it, uncorking it while saying, "Open up and pinch your nose Jules; stuff like this tastes terrible."

She sighed and did as told. He dumped the stuff into her mouth before slapping his hand over it to make sure she couldn't spit it out on instinct, "Swallow." She did in a harsh gulp, croaking out a one worded demand, "_Chocolate_."

She was swiftly supplied with a dark chocolate candy bar which she just a quickly downed. The wound on her bicep was already looking much better. She grinned, "Thanks." Ben took the seat beside her and grinned at his two comrades.

"Oh hell."


	15. Chapter 15

**Part Fifteen: First Signs**

_**Rated: K+**_

"Ms. Tennyson!" Clare screamed as soon as she neared her class; Gwen came running out, demanding, "What's up?! What's the matter?!"

"My Mommy came back home!" the girl was ecstatic but the older Anodite frowned, kneeling before her, "Are you guys sure it's her? A lot of aliens can shape-shift."

"I know, but her and Daddy had a secret handshake and she remembered it. She says she contacted the Plumbers—"

Gwen's cell went off and she held up a finger to silence the girl, as she answered it, "Yeah Kev?"

"We got an—"

"—Adult Anodite moving into Bellwood; yeah I know, I'm talking to her daughter."

"Daughter?"

"Yeah, she's a kid in the class I am aiding in…she has powers too…"

"Alright. Love you, bye."

"Love you too Kev, bye."

She put the cell back into her pocket, smiling, "I guess you're right." She stood up, saying, "C'mon I have a cupcake with your name on it."

"But you never bring food to school."

"Ah ah ah, what type of cake do you like?"

"Vanilla with chocolate frosting…I still…"

"Shhhh. Watch." Gwen stood up straight saying loudly, "I have nothing under my sleeves," she rolled up her sleeves to prove herself, "I've got nothing in my belt…well nothing more unusual than my usual…But I say three simple words bibiddi boppidi boo…" she opened her hands to show a manifesting yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting, "and here it is!"

"You used your powers!" Clare accused and the adult laughed, "Yeah but it's perfectly safe to eat. C'mon, class will start soon anyway."

And they went into the classroom.

_**THE END**_


End file.
